What Is Designated Representation Under TRESA Phase 2?
Designated representation is an option that came into force in Ontario on December 1, 2023 under Phase 2 of the Trust in Real Estate Services Act (TRESA). It lets a single brokerage assign different individual agents to each side of the same transaction — a designated buyer’s agent and a designated seller’s agent — so that each consumer gets one-on-one representation rather than the brokerage representing both sides at once. The brokerage as a whole still has duties to both clients, but the day-to-day fiduciary work is split between two named agents who do not share confidential information with each other.
It is important to understand that designated representation is not automatic. Each brokerage chooses whether to operate this way, and the consumer must agree in writing in their representation agreement. Where it is offered, it is the alternative to the older “multiple representation” model, where one agent (or one brokerage without designation) tries to represent both buyer and seller at the same time with the informed written consent of both.
If you want to walk into the conversation with a written summary in hand, see our printable one-page TRESA Phase 2 buyer rights checklist — it lays out the client vs SRP distinction, the RECO Information Guide, the designated representation election, and confidentiality rules on a single page you can take to a showing.
How designated representation differs from multiple representation
Under traditional multiple representation, the same brokerage — and sometimes the same individual agent — represents both the buyer and the seller in the same deal. Both clients must give written informed consent, and the agent’s duties (advice, opinion, advocacy) are sharply limited because they cannot favour one client over the other. Under designated representation, the brokerage formally assigns one specific agent to the buyer and a different specific agent to the seller. Each designated agent owes full fiduciary duties to their own client, including advocacy and opinion, and cannot share their client’s confidential information with the other designated agent or with anyone else at the brokerage.
- Multiple representation: one brokerage, often one agent, two clients, limited duties to each.
- Designated representation: one brokerage, two different designated agents, full duties to each client, information walls in between.
Written disclosure and consent rules
TRESA Phase 2 requires brokerages to give every prospective client a written information guide explaining the difference between being a client and being a self-represented party, and to obtain a written representation agreement before providing client services. If the brokerage uses designated representation, that election must be made clear up front — in the representation agreement and in any disclosure given when a designated-representation situation actually arises in a specific deal.
If you are a buyer and the brokerage you signed with is also listing the property you want to buy, you should expect a written disclosure naming your designated agent, naming the seller’s designated agent, and confirming the information barrier between them. You then sign to acknowledge the situation before any negotiation begins. The seller receives the same disclosure on their side.
What changes for the consumer in practice
- You keep your own advocate. Your designated agent can give you opinions on price, strategy, and conditions, the same as if the other side’s agent worked at a totally different brokerage.
- Confidential information is walled off. What you tell your designated agent about your top price, motivation, or fallback plan stays with that agent and is not shared with the other designated agent or with brokerage management beyond what is needed to supervise the file.
- You are not asked to waive advice. Unlike traditional multiple representation, where both sides accept reduced service, designated representation is meant to feel like a normal one-side representation arrangement to each consumer.
- The brokerage still has overall duties to both clients. Brokerage-level conflicts — such as how to handle competing offers — are managed by the broker of record under written policies.
When designated representation is most relevant
It comes up most often when a buyer working with a brokerage wants to make an offer on a property listed by the same brokerage. In a smaller market or a busy local team, this is not unusual. Before TRESA Phase 2, the only options were multiple representation (with reduced service to both sides) or having one client step aside and find different representation. Designated representation gives a third option that preserves full service to each consumer, provided the brokerage has elected to operate this way.
If the idea of being represented through the same brokerage as the other side concerns you, you can also still ask whether the brokerage offers designated representation, decline it, and seek representation through an unaffiliated brokerage. For background on the rules around using more than one brokerage at once, see our companion article on working with multiple real estate agents.
Questions to ask your brokerage
- Does this brokerage offer designated representation, or do you default to multiple representation when both sides are in-house?
- If designated representation applies, who would be the designated agent for each side, and how is that chosen?
- What information barrier do you have in place — file access, systems, supervisors — so my confidential information stays with my designated agent?
- How will competing offers be handled if more than one of your clients wants the same property?
- Will I receive the TRESA written information guide and the written disclosure before I have to make any decision?
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is designated representation mandatory in Ontario?
- No. TRESA Phase 2 permits it as of December 1, 2023, but each brokerage chooses whether to use it. Some brokerages still rely on the traditional multiple-representation model with informed written consent from both clients.
- Do I pay more for designated representation?
- No. Commission is negotiated separately in your representation agreement and is not affected by whether the brokerage uses designated representation or multiple representation.
- Can I refuse designated representation and still buy a property listed by the same brokerage?
- Yes. You can decline and either accept multiple representation with the disclosures it requires, or end your representation with that brokerage and engage a different brokerage to write the offer. RECO requires the brokerage to explain your options in writing before you decide.
- Will my designated agent share what I tell them with anyone at the brokerage?
- Only as far as necessary for the broker of record to supervise the file. Confidential negotiation information — your top price, motivation, deadlines — must not be shared with the other designated agent or with anyone working with the other side.
Related Reading
Primary sources for jurisdictional facts:
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